| Date | Version | Reading Plan |
|---|---|---|
| @July 16, 2024 | ESV (2016) | M’Cheyne Plan 2024 |
Joshua 23
Joshua 23:14-16a (ESV) 14 “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. 15 But just as all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the LORD your God has given you, 16 if you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them.
As his days were coming to a close, Joshua addressed the people, recounting how God had fulfilled every promise concerning them and that no word of the Lord had failed. However, they were to remain in their obedience or the Lord would bring upon them evil things until they were destroyed from the good land. Joshua speaking of God’s faithfulness as it led to exhortation is demonstrative of how often we also need be reminded of God’s fulfilled promises and for our response to be of gratitude and obedience. We can so easily lose sight of who He is and the great love He has shown through the sacrifice of His Son. May this then prompt us to remember the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the truth of His every word.
Acts 3
Acts 3:11–12 (ESV) 11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?
The people were astonished at the healing of the man who was lame from birth now walking and leaping and praising God. Seeing their amazement, Peter immediate identified this as an opportunity to give clarity to the man’s healing and witness to the people about Jesus. It came almost as a reflex to Peter and it should be much the same for us. While this was certainly a profound instance, even in our seemingly mundane day-to-day interactions, our constant focus on the gospel should manifest in seizing every moment in which we can share the love, hope and Lordship of Jesus.
Jeremiah 12
Jeremiah 12:1–2 (ESV) 12 Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive? 2 You plant them, and they take root; they grow and produce fruit; you are near in their mouth and far from their heart.
In almost psalmodic form, Jeremiah speaks God’s righteousness and then proceeds to ask why the wicked prosper and treacherous thrive. The order here seems important. Jeremiah does not begin with an accusation of God in the prosperity of the wicked but rather first acknowledges His righteousness. It is a model for us of the kind of earnest and reverent inquisition we are to have of the Lord. We are invited to come to Him with every grievance (and indeed we should), but the posture of the heart should be of full surrender to His ultimate goodness and sovereignty.
Matthew 26
Matthew 26:17 (ESV) 17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?”
With it being the first day of Unleavened Bread, the disciples inquired Jesus of where they would they would prepare to eat the Passover. The Passover meal consisted of a sacrificed lamb (commemorating the sacrificed lamb of the first Passover) and the eating of unleavened bread and bitter herbs. However, in the case of the Last Supper with Jesus and the disciples, there was no lamb, only the unleavened bread. I recently listened to a sermon by Tim Keller that illuminated the significance of this. There was no lamb at the Supper because Jesus IS the Lamb. He is the One who was sacrificed, by whose blood we are covered with His righteousness and this He did once for all.